Marin Voice: Support for ending homelessness

WE KNOW that there can never be enough partners in the effort to end homelessness in Marin County.

At Homeward Bound of Marin, we feel special gratitude for our partnership with the Marin Board of Supervisors and county officials.

Not all organizations serving homeless families and adults enjoy support from their local authorities. This year, the county will provide funding to maintain emergency shelter services.

The county's partnership in supporting Mill Street Center, Marin's only year-round emergency shelter for adults, and New Beginnings Center, our transitional housing program at Hamilton, have helped hundreds of people advance on a path to a new future.

Mill Street Center last year welcomed 593 people who appreciated having one of the 55 beds and a hot meal prepared by one of 40 Marin congregations. They came to Mill Street for hope and perhaps for a first step out of homelessness.

Current and former residents tell amazing stories about their journeys - journeys that are in and of themselves compelling reasons for the county to provide funding for these critical services.

These people are beacons of resilience for others who struggle to gain connections and a place to call home. They are resolute in addressing the demons within and without that play havoc with their intentions and aspirations to recover their lives.

They are courageous in their resolve to make progress toward self-sufficiency and independence.

A short stay at Mill Street Center leads many of its residents to our New Beginnings Center, a transitional housing program that offers meals, job training, counseling and other services.

While 72 percent of those residents enter the program with a high school education or less, 83 percent of them move to permanent housing.

Their record of success shows the importance of maintaining programs that let them "open the door" to an independent future.

Those of us with the privilege of doing this work on behalf of the community often find ourselves in awe of the changes we see and the transformations that occur.

We come to this work with eyes wide open about those who are not yet ready for the depth and breadth of change that is needed or for those who do not want or need services that we offer.

But none of us knows when that moment of change takes hold. And when it does, for that moment, we want to be there to open doors to safety, dignity, hope and independence.

Thank you, Marin Board of Supervisors.

Mary Kay Sweeney is executive director of Homeward Board, a local nonprofit that provides shelter and services to homeless people.